thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

This page contains information relating to Thanksgiving and turkeys.

Please visit my Pilgrim and Indian pages by clicking on the graphics below.

Updated 11-14-06

Pilgrims

Indians

Literature and Videos

Literature

A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson

Over the River and Through the Woods illustrated by

John Gurney

Sometimes It’s Turkey---Sometimes It’s Feathers by

Lorna Balian

Arthur’s Thanksgiving by Marc Brown

Farmer Goff and His Turkey Sam by Brian Schattell

Best Thanksgiving Book by Patricia Whitehead

Oh, What A Thanksgiving by Steven Kroll

‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey

Videos

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

The Mouse on the Mayflower

Songs and Poems

Alburquerque the Turkey
(tune of :"O' My Darlin' Clementine")

Alburquerque was a turkey,
And he's feathered and he's fine.
And he wobbles and he gobbles,
And I'm awfully glad he's mine.

He's the best pet you can get yet,
Better than a dog or cat.
He's my Alburquerque Turkey
And I'm awfully proud of that.

And my Alburquerque turkey
Is so cozy in his bed.
'Cause for our Thanksgiving dinner
We had Egg Foo Yung instead.

Mr. Turkey

(tune of Shortnin’ Bread)

I am Mr. Turkey, Turkey, Turkey,

I am Mr. Turkey, big and fat.

On my tail are feathers, feathers, feathers.

On my tail are feathers—what do you think of that?

When I walk, I wobble, wobble, wobble.

And when I talk I gobble, gobble, gobble!

Turkey and Dressing

(Are You Sleeping?)

Turkey and dressing,
Turkey and dressing.
Pumpkin pie! Pumpkin pie!
Everyone is humming.
Thanksgiving Day is coming!
Yum, yum, yum!
Yum, yum, yum!

Thanksgiving Dinner
(tune: Frere Jacques)

We eat tur-key, we eat tur-key.
Oh, so good. Oh, so good.
Al-ways on Thanks-giv-ing, al-ways on Thanks-giv-ing
Yum-yum-yum! Yum-yum-yum!

Verse 2: Mashed po-ta-toes. Mashed po-ta-toes.

(Repeat as in verse 1)
Verse 3: Pie and ice-cream.
Verse 4: Home-made bis-cuits
Verse 5: Tur-key, dress-ing

Down on the Farm

(tune of Down by the Bay)

Down on the farm where the turkeys are a-gobblin’.

They strut and stomp, look so silly, hats a-bobbin’.

As they dance and sing, as they dance and sing…

1. Did you ever see a pig dancing a jig?

2. Did you ever see a goat sailing a boat?

3. Did you ever see a cow taking a bow?

4. Did you ever see a hen writing with a pen?

5. Did you ever see a goose dancing with a moose?

The Turkey on the Farm

(tune of Wheels on the Bus)

The Turkey on the farm says, "Gobble, gobble, gobble;

Gobble, gobble, gobble; Gobble, gobble, gobble."

The Turkey on the farm says, "Gobble, gobble, gobble"

On Thanksgiving Day.

The farmer on the farm goes chop, chop, chop;

Chop, chop, chop; chop, chop, chop

The farmer on the farm goes chop, chop, chop

On Thanksgiving Day.

The turkey on the farm says "Please help me!!

Please help me!! Please help me!!"

The turkey on the farm says "Please help me!!

On Thanksgiving Day.

The children on the farm say "Come and hide,

Come and hide, come and hide."

The children on the farm say "Come and hide"

On Thanksgiving Day.

The wife on the farm looks all around,

All around, all around.

The wife on the farm looks all around

On Thanksgiving Day.

The family on the farm eat Kentucky Fried Chicken, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Kentucky Fried Chicken.

The family on the farm eat Kentucky Fried

Chicken

On Thanksgiving Day.

The Turkey on the farm says, "Gobble, gobble, gobble;

Gobble, gobble, gobble; Gobble, gobble, gobble."

The Turkey on the farm says, "Gobble, gobble, gobble"

On Thanksgiving Day.

The Turkey Dance

(sung to Turkey in the Straw)

Oh, you turkey to the left (two steps to the left)

And you turkey to the right (two steps to the right)

Then you heel and toe (do motion with foot)

And you scratch with all your might. (scratch with foot)

Now you flap your turkey wings (put thumbs in armpits and flap)

While your head goes bobble,bobble. (wobble head)

Turn around and then you say, (turn around)

"Gobble, gobble, gobble!"

Six Little Turkeys

(Six Little Ducks)

Six little turkeys that I once knew,

Fat ones, skinny ones there were too.

But the one little turkey with the funny red wattle,

He led the others with his gobble, gobble, gobble.

Gobble, gobble, gobble,

Gobble, gobble, gobble.

He led the others with his gobble, gobble, gobble.

Over the rocks and through the trees,

Turkeys wobbling in the breeze.

But the one little turkey with the funny red wattle,

He led the others with his gobble, gobble, gobble.

Gobble, gobble, gobble,

Gobble, gobble, gobble.

He led the others with his gobble, gobble, gobble.

I Eat Turkey
(Frere Jacques)

I eat turkey, Point to self)
I eat turkey. (Point to self again)
Yes, I do, (Nod head)
Yes, I do. (Nod head)

Turkey in my tummy, Rub tummy)
Yummy, yummy, yummy. (Rub tummy)
Good for me, (Point to self)
Good for you. (Point to others)

Joe Scruggs Turkey Song

(Tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic)

There's a turkey in the back yard and he's really getting fat.

'Cause he eats corn all day.

Chorus:

I don't want to eat the turkey,

On Thanksgiving Day.

We bought him from a former and he's now become my pet...

And he comes when I call his name.

My mother's on a diet and she should be eating fish...

So my turkey may get to stay.

I hid my daddy's hatchet in the woodshed out in back...

So my turkey will get to stay.

Turkey Pokey
(Hokey Pokey)

You put your right wing in.
You put your right wing out.
You put your right wing in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the turkey pokey
And you turn your self around.
That's what it's all about.

Additional verses:

Left wing (left arm)

Drumsticks (legs)

Stuffing (tummy)

Wattle (head)

Tail feathers (bottom)

Turkey body (whole self)

Thanksgiving Colors

Orange is a pumpkin.

Yellow is the corn.

Brown is the turkey

With stuffing to adorn.

Red are the cranberries.

Green are the beans.

Five delicious colors-

In a feast of my dreams.

I'm Glad I'm Not a Turkey

Oh, I'm glad I'm not a turkey,
A turkey, a turkey,
Oh, I'm glad I'm not a turkey,
On Thanksgiving Day.
They stuff you and bake you,
And then they all taste you.
Oh, I'm glad I'm not a turkey,
On Thanksgiving Day.

Thanksgiving

by Ivy Eastwick

Thank You for all my hands can hold-

Apples red and melons gold,

Yellow corn, both ripe and sweet,

Peas and beans, so good to eat!

Thank You for all my eyes can see-

Lovely sunlight, field and tree,

White cloud-boats in sea-deep sky,

Soaring bird and butterfly.

Thank You for all my ears can hear-

Birds' song echoing far and near,

Songs of little stream, big sea,

Cricket, bullfrog, duck and bee!

Student/Class Books

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie

Make a class book by doing an interactive writing sentence to illustrate each food the old lady ate. For example, “She ate pie.” (Let the children help compose and sound out the words for each sentence.) Students collaborate to draw food pictures for each page.

There is a storytelling apron that students can wear and feed the food pieces to the old lady. This apron can be purchased from Lakeshore Learning. I used photos from this to illustrate each page of our book.

If You Meet a Turkey

(adapted from Kim's classbooks):

http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/seasonal_related.html#Turkey

This is adaptation of the Wright Book, "If You Meet a Dragon. Glue a turkey cutout (I used an Ellison die-cut turkey) to each page. Use a real feather to “tickle” the turkey on each page. Make a pocket for the inside cover of the book as a place to store the feather.

If you meet a turkey,

Tickle his feathers.

Tickle his nose.

Tickle his wattle.

Tickle his toes.

Tickle his tummy.

Tickle his chin.

And that will be

The end of him!

(On the last page, cut the turkey in half vertically and glue to the right edge of the page so it appears the turkey is running away.)

I Eat Corn

(source unknown)

Cut pictures/labels from a Cornflakes cereal box and a corn tortilla bag. Get pictures of corn dogs, corn on the cob, and corn muffins. Use these pictures to illustrate the sentence on each page:

I eat Corn Flakes for breakfast.

I eat corn dogs for lunch.

I eat corn on the cob for dinner.

I eat popcorn, crunch, crunch.

I eat corn muffins for a treat.

I eat candy corn, how neat.

I think corn is good for you.

I give thanks for corn, don't you?

The Turkey Trick

(source unknown)

This is a patterned writing activity for practicing nouns, verbs, describing words, and quotation marks. Each turkey disguises itself as another animal to fool the farmer. It goes well with the song "Five Fat Turkeys are We", a song about turkeys hiding from the farmer and fooling him. Make three columns on the board: Animal Names, Animal Actions, and Animal Sounds and then brainstorm ideas for

This is an example:

I could be a __________. (pig)

I could ____________. (roll in the mud)

"_____, ______," (oink, oink) said the turkey.

"Oh!" said the farmer.

"It must be a _________!" (pig)

Turkey's Week

(source unknown)

This is an adaptation of the book, "Cookie's Week". Make up a story about a turkey and the days leading up to Thanksgiving.

The children work in groups to illustrate each page. For example:

On Sunday, Turkey ran away from the farm.

On Monday he flew to Hawaii.

On Tuesday he sat on the beach and ate pineapple,

On Wednesday he…

On Thanksgiving Day, he…

On Friday, Turkey …

My Little Thank You Book

(from The Mailbox Companion)

Write each line of the poem below on a separate page and illustrate.

I’ll say thanks for friends I know;

Thanks for pets that I love so!

Thanks for my own home so sweet;

Thanks for all the food I eat;

Thanks for things I like to do;

Thanks for my own family, too!

Indian, Indian, What do you see?

(from Linda at http://www.kinderteacher.com)

Indian, Indian,

What do you see?

I see the Mayflower

looking at me.

Mayflower, Mayflower,

What do you see?

I see Plymouth Rock, waiting for me.

Plymouth Rock,

What do you see?

I see a teepee close by the sea.

Teepee, Teepee,

What do you see?

I see some Pilgrims standing near me.

Pilgrims, Pilgrims,

What do you see?

We see turkey and cranberries,

Corn and Pumpkin pie,

A Thanksgiving Day dinner is what we spy.

Tell Me About Turkeys

(Teacher’s Helper, Nov/Dec/Jan 1998-99)

This is a factual book about turkeys. The booklet is round in shape and you add a few touches to make the cover look like a turkey. Two plastic forks are taped to the back of the book. The prongs hang down at the bottom and look like the turkey's feet. Adorable!

Other Literacy Activities

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie

(Idea from Mary Martell)

Make an old lady by enlarging a basic shape of a woman. Cut out her mouth and her belly and laminate her. Hot glue a clear garbage bag to the back of her mouth that hangs down to her belly. Make pictures of each food item in the story for the kids to use to feed the Old Lady. You can also make a word card (pie, rolls, cider, etc.) to feed her after they feed her the food pictures. Later the kids match the food word to the picture. Make enough food pictures (like three pies, three rolls, etc.) so several kids come up when it's their turn to feed the old lady.

I also made individual “old ladies” for each student by taping a ziplock sandwich bag behind her cut-out mouth. They each had miniature food pictures to feed her for retelling the story at school and at home.

Thanksgiving Book from Kinderlit

Tom Turkey and the Wind

(from Mailbox Companion)

Program cut out feathers with words or letters that need reinforcement. Seat children in a circle on the floor. Fan the feathers in your hand as you strut around the circle chanting, “Tom Turkey was strutting all around ‘til the wind came and blew his feathers down.” On the word “down”, toss the feathers into the air. Each child picks up a feather and returns to his place in the circle. Students read what is on each feather. The game can continue with a student playing Tom Turkey.

Small Group Turkey Game

Give each child a lunch bag with a turkey cutout attached to the front. Program index cards with words or letters that need reinforcement. Place cards in the center of the playing area. In turn, players draw a card. If they can read it, they “stuff” their turkey with the word. Play continues until all of the cards are used. Students count the cards in their bags to determine the winner.

Turkey Toss

Stuff a lunch bag with newspaper and staple shut. Attach a turkey cutout to one side of the bag. Hang the bag turkey by a string suspended from a chart stand. Play a flashcard game and give each child a beanbag to toss at the turkey if he can read the flashcard.

I Am Thankful Turkey

Attach a turkey body to a construction paper background. On the body, write, ”I am thankful I can read these words.” Write words on feathers. Students can glue on feathers of words they can read.

It’s Thanksgiving
by Jack Prelutsky
This is a book of poems and the website below has a lesson plan and pictures of what Pilgrims were grateful for.

http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/wil/Its_Thanksgiving_Lesson.pdf

Feast for Ten
by Cathryn Falwell
This website has a lesson plan and rhyming picture cards of items from story.

http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/wil/Feast_for_10_Lesson.pdf

“A Turkey for Thanksgiving” worksheets for story recall, characters and sequencing

Teacher’s Helper, Nov/Dec/Jan 1997-98

Thanksgiving Food Match

Teacher’s Helper, Nov/Dec/Jan 1999-2000

Math

Roll a Turkey Game

Students need a blank sheet of paper. They work in small groups and take turns rolling a die to make a complete turkey, including a body, a head, a face with a wattle, 2 legs, 2 wings and 4 feathers. The first one to finish drawing his turkey is the winner!

Click here to print out the Roll a Turkey game.

Click here to print a pre-drawn dotted head and body. This would be helpful for the students if they roll a 3, 4, 5, or 6 before they've drawn the turkey head or a body. It gives them a point of reference to draw their own wings, feet, face and feathers.

Science

Incorporate a plant/seeds unit by planting a corn seed, popcorn, and candy corn. Make predictions on what will grow and then watch their progress! Some kids will actually think a candy corn tree may grow from the candy corn. After a few weeks make a Venn diagram comparison of between real corn and candy corn.

Put an ear of corn in a pot filled with potting soil half covered with the soil. It will grow. Be sure to use field corn or Indian corn.

Or just take an ear of Indian corn and place it in a pie tin with water. The kernels of corn actually start growing!

Social Studies

Mayflower Re-enactment

This was an idea from Sharon in Florida. Nine classes combined to create a student-formed Mayflower.Making the Mayflower (the boys): Line up 2 rows of boys to be the boat. If you have an odd number of boys, let the odd one be the front of the boat. Have each set of 2 boys (standing side-by-side) lock opposite arms from boy 1's shoulder to boy 2's shoulder. Then each boy holds onto the shoulder of the boy directly in front of him. THIS MAKES THE MAYFLOWER BOAT. Boarding the Mayflower (the girls): The girls in your class are the Pilgrims. Have the girls crawl under the archway the boys have made with their arms. They will be inside the boat. Then the sea gets a LITTLE ROUGH and the "Mayflower" GENTLY rocks back and forth. The boat can move VERY SLOWLY FORWARD so the "Pilgrims" have time to move up too, going to America. Then the "Mayflower" gently bumps into PLYMOUTH ROCK (a cabinet, chair or table from your room). The "Pilgrims" get off (crawl out from tunnel made by boys archway). The boys then become the Native Americans and greet the Pilgrims. THEN ALL CHILDREN PLAYED ON THE PLAYGROUND.

Thanksgiving Story Retelling Bracelet

Use these colored beads to retell the story of the first Thanksgiving.

First brown bead represents the Pilgrims leaving England for religious freedom
Next white bead represents the sails on the Mayflower
3 blue beads for the long trip over the ocean
1 green for when they spy land
3 white (or clear glitter) for the snow during the long winter
1 green for the arrival of spring
1 tan for the Native Americans who helped the Pilgrims
4 beads for the foods served at the first Thanksgiving
- 1 red for cranberries,
- 1 yellow for corn
- 1 brown for turkey
- 1 orange for pumpkins

Art/Craft Activities

Handprint Turkeys

Paint child’s palm and thumb brown and each finger a different color. When dry, paint the tip of the index finger red and put on thumbprint for the turkey’s waddle. Use orange marker to make beak and feet and black marker for eyes. Add this poem beneath the turkey handprint:

This isn’t just a turkey,

As anyone can see.

I made it with my little hand

Which is a part of me.

It comes with lots of love

Especially to say:

I hope you have a very

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Family Gift Bag

Cut an eight inch circle of muslin. Have children use fabric crayons or permanent markers to decorate the circle. Use saran wrap to package a small amount of popcorn kernels and wrap into a ball shape. Fold the muslin circle up around the popcorn and tie with ribbon or yarn. Tie a small tag to the ribbon printed with the following verse:

This is a tiny little sack.

Inside you’ll find a popcorn snack.

Outside there is a bit of art

To say you’re always in my heart.

Coffee Filter Turkey

Use eyedroppers to drop colored water (from food coloring) on to a coffee filter. While this filter dries, glue colored feathers along the upper rim of a second filter. Glue the colored filter over the plain filter, sandwiching the ends of the feathers between. Glue on a circular head, wiggle eyes, waddle, beak and feet cutouts.

Turkey Napkin Holder

Use brown construction paper for a body, red for the head, and orange for the legs and beak. Cut out the pieces. Glue the bottom of the head piece to the body piece. Fold the beak in half and glue one side to the head. Glue on wiggly eyes. Attach the legs to the back of the bottom of the body. Glue this note to the front of the body section after creasing the wings forward.

Turkey on the table.

What do you say?

Yummy, yummy, yummy,

Yummy all day.

Turkey in my tummy.

What do you say?

I ate too much

On Thanksgiving Day!

Cut a toilet paper roll in half and hot glue it to the back of the body section to enable the turkey to stand up. Buy colorful napkins and stuff the napkin (fan it somewhat) into the toilet paper roll to serve as the turkey’s feathers.

OK, so the napkin holder on the right is pathetic, but he has been living in a box in my basement for years. Pretend he has 2 eyes, a poem on his tummy and a colorful napkin sticking up behind his head. At least you get a visua